Beautiful, but Singapore Daisy is choking Kerala's native flora
It looks like a beautiful golden carpet. With its bright yellow, earstud-shaped blossoms, Sphagneticola trilobata—locally known in Kerala as "kammalpoovu" or Singapore daisy—is a common sight in gardens and roadsides. But beneath its cheerful appearance lies an aggressive invader that is quietly
It looks like a beautiful golden carpet. With its bright yellow, earstud-shaped blossoms, Sphagneticola trilobata—locally known in Kerala as "kammalpoovu" or Singapore daisy—is a common sight in gardens and roadsides. But beneath its cheerful appearance lies an aggressive invader that is quietly
It looks like a beautiful golden carpet. With its bright yellow, earstud-shaped blossoms, Sphagneticola trilobata—locally known in Kerala as "kammalpoovu" or Singapore daisy—is a common sight in gardens and roadsides. But beneath its cheerful appearance lies an aggressive invader that is quietly
It looks like a beautiful golden carpet. With its bright yellow, earstud-shaped blossoms, Sphagneticola trilobata—locally known in Kerala as "kammalpoovu" or Singapore daisy—is a common sight in gardens and roadsides. But beneath its cheerful appearance lies an aggressive invader that is quietly wreaking havoc on the state's agriculture and biodiversity.
From garden ornament to ecological threat
Originally native to tropical America, this plant, also known as creeping daisy or wedelia, was introduced to Kerala as an ornamental ground cover. Today, it has escaped cultivation, spreading aggressively across farms, fallow lands, and forest edges. Its aesthetic appeal has unfortunately blinded many to its highly destructive potential.
Why it is a survivor
The Singapore daisy is exceptionally tough. It boasts an incredible tolerance for high temperatures and prolonged dry spells. Because it is an alien species, it has no natural predators, pests, or diseases in Kerala. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists it among the world's 100 worst invasive species, a status echoed by the Kerala State Biodiversity Board.
Choking native biodiversity
While it does produce seeds, the weed multiplies primarily through its creeping stems. Even a tiny fragment of a stem can easily strike root in moist soil. Once established, it forms a dense, suffocating mat that blocks sunlight and deprives other plants of nutrients. Worse still, it releases allelopathic chemicals into the soil that actively stunt the growth of neighbouring plants, pushing native species to the brink of local extinction.
A tough battle for eradication
Farmers are finding it incredibly difficult to rid their fields of this weed. Thanks to its thick, hardy stems, chemical herbicides are largely ineffective at eradicating it completely. Experts suggest that the only real solution is physical uprooting. If you spot this weed, it must be carefully pulled out by its roots—ensuring not a single stem fragment is left behind on the soil—and buried deep in pits to prevent regrowth.
This article was prepared in collaboration with a research scholar at the College of Agriculture, Vellayani, and a Soil Survey Officer, Wayanad.